This is really a 4.5 rounded up. This book was amazing and gripping from the beginning. It was a little confusing because Edmond was pretending to be so many people, but I asked my mom all my questions, and the ones she didn't answer were answered later in the story. I docked a half-star because the last 10-15% of the book had a melancholy tone to it, once the revenge REALLY started in earnest, and especially after what happened with Valentine. Overall I really like this book, and I think I would probably read it again, just not for a while.